Helium is a relatively expensive gas which is used in large quantities in a variety of contexts. One such context is optical fiber manufacturing where it is typically utilized in a number of processes involved in the manufacture of optical fiber. Several factors make helium a candidate for recycling. It is a nonrenewable resource recovered as a byproduct from natural gas wells. Consequently, it is expensive. Since it is a noble gas, it does not react, thus, it can be suitably recovered and reused.
Nonetheless, until recently, helium has not been recycled as part of the optical fiber manufacturing process. Two recent patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,452,583 and 5,377,491, incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, have addressed the subject of helium recycling in the context of recycling helium used as a coolant gas in the draw fiber cooling process utilized in optical fiber manufacturing. While the draw process is the process which typically utilizes the most helium, these patents neither address the potential interrelationship of other helium utilizing processes in optical fiber manufacturing, nor the desirability, nor the practical aspects of how to implement recycling in other specific processes such as the consolidation process.